Today in Washington D.C., I met with US Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Paulson, and Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, as a part of a comprehensive day of meetings on the economic and financial outlook for the United States and implications for the global economy.
Secretary Paulson and I discussed developments in the US and global economy, as well as efforts to improve international coordination of responses to the global financial turbulence.
Chairman Bernanke and I discussed the implications of the current period of financial volatility, and focused on the risks to US economic growth and the consequences for the global economy.
In these discussions, I raised the need to improve cooperation on the surveillance of financial markets. I also stressed the importance of effective policy responses to the current financial turbulence. This will help ensure that regulatory gaps are covered and that risks and vulnerabilities to the financial system are identified and carefully monitored.
I also met with a broad range of key US economic policy makers and financial market participants, including the Securities and Investment Commission, providing perspectives from Congress to Wall Street.
In addition, I had discussions with the Indian Minister of Finance, Shri Chidambaram, regarding global economic developments and their impacts on his country. The Indian Finance Minister and I reaffirmed our commitment to build closer ties, reflecting the growing economic relationship between India and Australia, and our shared interest in regional and multilateral forums.
The meetings were held in advance of the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to be held in Washington DC from 12 to 13 April 2008.
These discussions, and assessments of the difficult international environment we confront, will play a vital role in the development of the Rudd Government's first Budget.
WASHINGTON DC, USA
Friday 11 April 2008 (Washington time) / Saturday 12 April 2008 (Canberra time)